


is it a secret if everyone knows

by lhknox



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Humour, how does she keep her secret at all, kara's a dummy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 20:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12395994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lhknox/pseuds/lhknox
Summary: lena knows something's up. kara disappears from work almost constantly and is never at her desk and yet nobody seems to care. does everybody know something lena doesnt?





	is it a secret if everyone knows

**Author's Note:**

> because kara is a dumb dumb who gets changed at work and leaves giant holes in the building also catco probably has like a billion security cameras who tf is she kidding

lena knows something’s wrong with kara, and it’s not just that she’s not over mon-el. 

it’s been a month and a half since she’d bought catco, a month and a half of observing and talking and working, a month of a half of noticing that something is definitely wrong with kara.

she’s almost never at work and when she is, her mind is elsewhere. her articles are great -- to the point with great analysis -- but lena doesn’t know when she gets a damn chance to actually write them.

she knows kara won’t tell her the truth, so she does what any responsible boss would do. she talks to her supervisors. 

“i’m sure she’s fine,” james tells her, “i know she’s fine.”

“yes but aren’t you concerned one of your employees keeps disappearing and is seemingly barely at her desk?”

james clears his throat and averts his eyes.

“but she’s not just  _any_ employee, is she?” lena prods. james sighs and leans against his desk. “james this is unacceptable.”

“excuse me?”

“you can’t show favouritism to an employee just because she’s a friend,” lena says. “if kara danvers isn’t doing her job properly, then proper steps must be taken-”

“ms. luthor with all due respect, her job is being done and i see nothing wrong with her performance. and if you  _are_  concerned, then speak to snapper carr, he’s her editor.”

“i have spoken to him and it seems that nobody is concerned with this unprofessional behaviour.”

james sighs deeply, rubbing his temples as though to dispel a headache.

“maybe just be straightforward with kara? get her to be honest with you. speak to her as a boss or a friend or whatever, but make sure you speak to her.”

“good day, mr. olsen.”

 

//

 

lena realises what’s wrong with kara three months after she buys catco. or at least, she thinks she knows what’s wrong. she leaves at the drop of a hat, she’s always on her phone when lena’s around. she’s distant and disgruntled.

“i’m going to sell catco,” lena says as she approaches kara’s desk. for once, kara’s actually sitting at it. 

“what?? but you love it here!” kara says, standing to face lena, her eyebrows creased with concern.

“yes, but i’ve figured it out. you don’t want me here. that’s why you’ve been so absent, because i’ve fused our professional and personal lives too much and you don’t like working with me.”

“that’s ridiculous! of course i want you here! i think you’re doing an incredible job.”

“then what’s wrong kara? do you need a raise? a vacation? i’m very concerned, about you and the fact that nobody else seems to be concerned.”

“lena i just... i do my work, well if i might add. i don’t see what the big deal is.”

“kara you’re barely at the office and when you are, your mind’s somewhere else! are you in some sort of trouble? do you need help?”

“i’m fine, i swear. and i promise that i’ll make more of an effort to stay professional. i’m sorry you thought this was your fault.”

lena smiles softly, regarding the girl before her. kara takes off her glasses and cleans them on the edge of her sweater. and for a moment, there’s something about kara’s face that seems familiar, almost as though lena knows her from somewhere else. she stands there for the moment, on the edge of deja vu and clarity, before taking a step back.

“see you at lunch?” she asks kara. kara almost glows as she answers.

“see you then!”

 

//

 

five months in, and she finally figures it out.

well, rather, she overhears the truth.

she’s on her way to maintenance to discuss the never-quite-fixed hole in the top of the building to see if they’ve finally gotten to the bottom of it. lena walks down the quiet hallways of the basement floors, trying to find kyle’s office. she hears them talking before she even sees the room.

“someone better tell supergirl to stop burstin’ outta the damn roof. can’t she use the balcony again? that was so much easier.”

“yeah, all we had to do was fold up her clothes and put ‘em under her desk.”

 _supergirl_? lena thinks.  _she uses catco as a secret base? did cat grant know? does james know?_

“if i have to fix another kara danvers shaped hole in the roof i’m gonna scream.”

“if i have to file another confidentiality clause with pam i’m gonna quit.”

lena feels her throat constrict and her chest tighten. kara? kara is supergirl? kara her best friend????? supergirl????? before she can think, before she can breathe or do anything remotely sane, she bursts into kyle’s office.

“ms luthor, how can i help?”

“the copies you have, of kara danvers incident reports, i’d like to see them please.”

“uh, yeah. sure.” kyle opens a filing cabinet and hands lena a thick manilla folder. “here you go.” she takes the file and heads to the door.

she stops in the doorway, and turns around.

“you know kara danvers is supergirl?” kyle and jack laugh.

“ms luthor, who doesn’t?”

 

//

 

lena sits at james' desk, nursing a drink, the huge file open in front of her. the incident reports are all the same. kara bursting through ceilings, breaking through the top of the elevator, accidentally stripping in the elevator and not noticing other people in there. jumping off the balcony when the doors behind her are glass and the office is filled with people.

“kara, you idiot.” lena mumbles under her breath. she takes a big gulp of her scotch, trying to wrap her head around it all. why hadn’t kara told her? were they not friends? didn’t she trust lena? a super and a luthor could never be real allies.

or maybe she did trust lena. maybe she needs to be just kara with someone. maybe supergirl needs to be left behind sometimes. lena sighs deeply, feeling the alcohol burn in her chest.

she sends a quick email to kyle, and tells him to look into contractors who can work on installing an open skylight at the top of the building with automatic covers that can open and close when need be. maybe that way they’d save a little money on repairs.

she picks up her phone and opens her chat with kara. she deliberates what to do. should she text her? confront her? pretend like she doesn’t know anything?

her phone buzzes and she smiles as she sees the dinner plate emoji and a question mark sent from kara’s number.

she replies with ‘on my way’.

there’ll be plenty of opportunities for kara to tell lena about supergirl, when she’s good and ready. until then, lena decides, she’s happy with the friendship they have.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr at murdershegoat


End file.
